For companies to truly succeed in bridging the digital divide amongst employees - the gulf that exists between the computer literate and the technology shy - a new approach to skills transfer is necessary.
"Is it possible for employees to gain anything from an e-learning course when the mere mention of a mouse has these workers scrambling to get on to their desks?" asks Gary Galanti, sales and marketing director of Bridge-PT.
Galanti believes that it is possible, but only through the adoption of a blended approach to the subject of learning.
"Purely instructor-led learning has its disadvantages, especially when it comes to issues of pace, content and language. More often than not, some learners become bored or confused and are left behind the rest of the class," he says.
"By the same token, a purely e-learning approach will have limited success - particularly when tackling classes of individuals new to technology."
He says that in a learning environment, technology should never be seen as a replacement but rather as an enabler, which is why Bridge-PT`s approach depends strongly on blended learning, encompassing the advantages of both instructor-led learning and e-learning.
"We begin with an instructor-led programme, which goes through an e-learning module in a classroom environment. This means that users are not intimidated by the new medium and have the support of experienced trainers who can help them with the transition," says Galanti.
"As users become familiar with the system they are moved onto a predominantly e-learning schedule, allowing them adopt a pace that suits them, as they are 'weaned` on to the computer-based system. At the same time, they still have access to assistance should they require it."
He says that Bridge-PT also provides ongoing progress tracking and evaluation, which is critical in terms of ensuring that corporate resources being invested in up-skilling are achieving their targets.
"Our blended approach provides constant evaluation from the start through to the end of the course together with on-the-job impact," states Galanti.
"Evaluation is done on several levels and includes what users thought of the e-learning intervention; how well they learnt the materials through online quizzes and progress-tracking functionality built into simulation lessons; and management evaluation tools which allow managers to complete online assessments of progress in staff competencies."
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